NYS Stem Scholarship

[austinmshauri]

They are taking her scholarship away because she does not have 12 required classes a semester (in her major or gen eds). The other classes she is taking to make her full time schedule are STEM classes that go with her major such as an upper level research in forensic chemistry class. They are not counting these other classes so there is no way she can even get the scholarship…We are going to have to pay back the scholarship from the first 2 yeas.

Which SUNY is she attending? Is she a chem major? If she’s already completed her gen eds ask if she can add a minor or another major. If not, see how many 4 credit courses she has left. If she can put 3 into a single semester it will cut the semesters you have to pay tuition down to 3. If they’re all 3 credit courses, she’d need to take 4 at once.

Why do you have to repay the scholarship for the first 2 years? If she met the requirements it doesn’t make sense that they’d convert the grant to a loan. The [HESC website](NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - STEM FAQs) says:

The STEM Incentive Program award payment is released to your school at the end of each term provided the college certifies that you met the eligibility requirements. You are required to apply for payment of the STEM Incentive Program award each academic year.

If she met the eligibility requirements for those 2 years, it sounds like she was entitled to the grant. @Sybbie719 might have some insight on how it works.